List of the largest countries in Western Europe. Which countries are part of the European Union? Nordic countries
Europe- part of the Eurasian continent, washed by two oceans at once - the Arctic, as well as the Atlantic.
The area of the EU is approximately 10 million square meters. The population accounts for approximately 10% of the total population of the planet, which is approximately 740 million people.
General information
How many parts in Europe:
- Northern Europe;
- Southern Europe;
- Eastern Europe;
- Central Europe.
Depending on the opinions available, European countries can be assigned to one part of it or to another.
The highest point in Europe is Mount Elbrus, whose height reaches 5642 m. The lowest point is the Caspian Sea, which at the moment is approximately 27 m high.
The main territory is dominated by flat terrain, and only 17% of all of Europe is mountains. The climate of most of Europe is temperate. But in the north of the territory there are glaciers, and in the Caspian lowland - desert.
Europe is the region with the greatest cultural diversity despite its small territory.
Eastern Europe
The European part of Eurasia, located within the borders of Central and Eastern Europe, is commonly referred to as Eastern Europe.
This territory is home to a larger number of people than in other European regions, and occupies about 2/3 of Europe.
The bulk of the population is represented by people of Slavic appearance. In connection with political actions, the territory is constantly amenable to change.
So, in Soviet times, the countries of the USSR were included in Eastern Europe, but after the collapse of the Soviet Union, some countries separated and began to be considered foreign.
The climate here is drier and less warm. However, the soils of this part of Europe are much more fertile than the soils of Western Europe. Eastern Europe has the largest amount of chernozem soils in the world.
Eastern Europe is the closest in spirit and territory to Russia part of the Old World. The flight by plane will not take more than two hours. You can even go on vacation to the nearest countries while driving your own car.
The familiar climate and native language will be a pleasant bonus for those who decide to spend their holidays in Eastern Europe.
Western Europe is the territory in which all the Western countries of Europe are located. Usually, this includes countries that are connected by cultural and geographical principles, and which were able to avoid Soviet influence during the Cold War.
The climate in Western Europe is mostly temperate, with mild winters and warm summers.
Western Europe is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Urbanization here is at the level of 80%.
The largest agglomerations here are London and Paris.
Western Europe is considered the most popular for tourism. About 65% of tourists flock here.
In this area you can see everything from sandy beaches to mountain landscapes. The mosaic of landscapes is striking in its beauty.
A large flow of tourists has led to the formation of special tourist zones that specialize in providing tourist services to guests.
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Everyone will be able to accurately indicate on the map where Europe is located. However, it is not so easy to set clear boundaries.
The geographical boundaries of Europe on the northern, western and southern sides are the coastline of the seas of the Arctic Ocean, as well as the Atlantic Ocean. These are the Baltic, Northern, Irish, Mediterranean, Black, Marmara and Azov seas.
The eastern border is usually drawn along the slope of the Ural Mountains to the Caspian Sea. Some sources also include the territory of the Caucasus in Europe.
List of countries in Europe
The number of European countries is quite extensive.
Listed in alphabetical order, the list would look like this:
- Austria;
- Albania;
- Andorra.
- Belarus;
- Belgium;
- Bulgaria;
- Bosnia.
- Vatican;
- Great Britain;
- Hungary.
- Germany;
- Holland;
- Greece.
- Denmark.
- Ireland;
- Spain;
- Italy;
- Iceland.
- Latvia;
- Lithuania;
- Liechtenstein;
- Luxembourg.
- Malta;
- Moldova;
- Monaco.
- Norway.
- Poland;
- Portugal.
- Russia;
- Romania.
- San Morino;
- Serbia;
- Slovakia;
- Slovenia.
- Ukraine.
- Finland;
- Croatia.
- Montenegro;
- Switzerland;
- Sweden.
- Estonia.
This is a complete list of states that are European.
Number of European countries
The number of states that make up Europe today is 50 .
But based on the political and economic situations that are taking place in the world, it cannot be argued that this list will not change.
You can take as an example the Soviet Union, which at one time broke up into 15 independent states. Whereas the GDR and the FRG, for example, on the contrary, united into a single whole, and today they are called Germany.
Currently, a difficult political situation is taking place in Spain. The Catalan part of it is trying to stand out as a state independent of Spain, and be called Catalonia.
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National symbols
The national symbols of the countries are their flags and coats of arms. As a rule, animalistic symbols are included in the basis of coats of arms. The image of a horse symbolizes speed, movement.
All European countries are familiar with the myths about the god of the sun, who moved in his carriage, which was drawn by horses.
And here, for example, the elephant represents reliability and strength. It is his image that can be found on the coat of arms of the city of Coventry in the UK.
The state symbols of England is the oldest of all European countries. The coat of arms, which is now official in Great Britain, originated in the 19th century.
looks like a shield
- Top left and bottom right corners there are three golden leopards on a red background.
- Top right- a fiery lion, located on a background of the color of gold - the Scottish coat of arms.
- In the lower left- a harp of gold on a blue field - Irish symbols.
This shield is held by a golden lion with a crown in its mane and a snow-white unicorn.
The symbolism of the Scandinavian countries reveals the history of the countries of the European North. The coat of arms of Denmark has been formed over several centuries. It is a shield, on top of which there is a crown, and inside the shield, four blue leopards are arranged in a row from top to bottom.
Divided by a red and white cross, in the center of which is just her coat of arms.
Until the 13th century, the state emblem of Sweden depicted three leopards in crowns standing one behind the other on the field, which was very reminiscent of the coat of arms of Denmark.
Only at the beginning of the 14th century did coat of arms depicting three golden crowns, which later became the state symbol.
primordial coat of arms of Iceland was presented in the form of a white falcon. But in 1944, a new symbolism was chosen: a shield held by a bull, a dragon, an eagle and an old man.
chief The symbol of Albania is a black eagle with two heads., which is the Albanian coat of arms.
The symbol of Bulgaria is the golden lion., located on a red shield, which is a symbol of masculinity.
Polish coat of arms It looks like a white eagle, whose head is decorated with a gilded crown.
Symbol of Serbia was created during the unification of the lands of Serbia. It depicts an eagle with two heads and a crown.
Macedonia became independent only in the second half of the 20th century. Therefore, until this period, symbolism was represented only by territorial symbols.
Now the coat of arms of Macedonia flaunts a golden crowned lion.
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Population and area of countries
The main giant by all criteria among European countries is Russia.
Its area is approximately equal to 17 million square meters, which is almost equal to the area of South America, and the population is about 146 million.
However, the entry of Russia into Europe is considered controversial, because most of it is located in Asia, and only about 22% - in Europe.
The next in the list of the largest countries in Europe is Ukraine. It occupies an area of almost 604 thousand square meters.
The population of Ukraine is about 42 million people.
France, Spain, Sweden, Germany, Finland, Norway, Poland and Italy present a list of the 10 largest European countries. However, in terms of the number of inhabitants of these countries, Germany is after Russia, the number of inhabitants of which is about 81 million people .
The population of France is in third place in terms of number. Within it, there are about 66 million people .
The largest cities in Europe are London, with its population of 7 million people, Berlin - 3.5 million people, followed by Madrid, Rome, Kyiv and Paris with a population of 3 million.
Which countries are in the European Union?
The Union of Europe was organized during the collapse of the USSR. The EU is united together for economic reasons and political views of the state. Most of these countries use one type of currency - the euro.
The Union is an international entity that includes the signs of a country and the signs of the international community, but in fact they are neither one nor the other.
In some cases, decisions are made by supranational institutions, and in others through negotiations between countries that are members of the European Union.
At the very beginning of its inception, only six countries were part of the European Union.– Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and France.
To date, thanks to the connection to the agreement, the number of countries within the European Union has increased to twenty-eight.
States give up their sovereignty, in return receive protection in various institutions of the union, which act for the common interests of all participants.
The Lisbon Treaty included rules for leaving the European Union. For the entire period of action, only Greenland left the European Union - in the late 1900s.
At the moment, five countries claim the opportunity to leave the Union. These are Albania, Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey and Montenegro.
List of EU countries:
- Austria;
- Belgium;
- Bulgaria;
- Hungary;
- Great Britain;
- Greece;
- Germany;
- Denmark;
- Italy;
- Ireland;
- Spain;
- Republic of Cyprus;
- Luxembourg;
- Latvia;
- Lithuania;
- Malta;
- Netherlands;
- Portugal;
- Poland;
- Romania;
- Slovenia;
- Slovakia;
- Finland;
- Croatia;
- Sweden;
- Estonia.
Liechtenstein, the Norwegian and Swiss states have not agreed to become members of the European Union, but partly take part in the implementation of joint economic activities.
The population of the European Union as of 2009 exceeded five hundred million people.
Throughout the land of the European Union, people equally use twenty-four languages. But, as a rule, the most popular languages in the European Union are English, German, and also French.
As for religious views, according to polls, about 18% of the population are atheists, 27% are not sure of their views, and 52% confidently believe in the existence of God.
If you do not take into account dependent regions and not fully recognized states, then Europe for 2017 covers 44 powers. Each of them has a capital, which houses not only its administration, but also the highest authority, that is, the government of the state.
In contact with
States of Europe
The territory of Europe stretches from east to west for more than 3 thousand kilometers, and from south to north (from the island of Crete to the island of Svalbard) for 5 thousand kilometers. The European powers are, for the most part, comparatively small. With such small sizes of territories and good transport accessibility, these states either closely border on each other or are separated by very small distances.
The European continent is divided territorially into parts:
- western;
- eastern;
- northern;
- southern.
All powers located on the European continent belong to one of these territories.
- There are 11 countries in the western region.
- In the east - 10 (including Russia).
- In the north - 8.
- In the south - 15.
Let's list all the countries of Europe and their capitals. We will divide the list of countries and capitals of Europe into four parts according to the territorial and geographical position of the powers on the world map.
Western
List of states belonging to Western Europe, with a list of main cities:
The states of Western Europe are washed mainly by the currents of the Atlantic Ocean and only in the north of the Scandinavian Peninsula border on the waters of the Arctic Ocean. In general, these are highly developed and prosperous powers. But they are distinguished by an unfavorable demographic situation. This is a low birth rate and a low level of natural growth of inhabitants. In Germany, there is even a decline in population. All this led to the fact that developed Western Europe began to play the role of a subregion in the global system of population migration, it turned into the main center of labor immigration.
Eastern
List of states located in the eastern zone of the European continent and their capitals:
The states of Eastern Europe have a lower level of economic development than their Western neighbors. But, they better preserved cultural and ethnic identity. Eastern Europe is more of a cultural and historical region than a geographical one. The Russian expanses can also be attributed to the eastern territory of Europe. And the geographical center of Eastern Europe is located approximately within Ukraine.
Northern
The list of states that make up northern Europe, including capitals, looks like this:
The territories of the states of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jutland, the Baltic States, the islands of Svalbard and Iceland are included in the northern part of Europe. The population of these regions is only 4% of the entire European composition. Sweden is the largest country in the G8 and Iceland is the smallest. The population density in these lands is less in Europe - 22 people / m 2, and in Iceland - only 3 people / m 2. This is due to the harsh conditions of the climatic zone. But the economic indicators of development distinguish northern Europe as the leader of the entire world economy.
South
And finally, the most numerous list of territories located in the southern part, and the capitals of European states:
The Balkan and Iberian Peninsulas are occupied by these South European powers. Industry is developed here, especially ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy. The countries are rich in mineral resources. In agriculture, the main efforts focused on the cultivation of food products, such as:
- grape;
- olives;
- pomegranate;
- dates.
It is known that Spain is the world's leading country in the collection of olives. It is here that 45% of all olive oil in the world is produced. Spain is also famous for its famous artists - Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro.
European Union
The idea of creating a single community of European powers appeared in the middle of the twentieth century, or rather after the Second World War. The official unification of the countries of the European Union (EU) took place only in 1992, when this union was sealed by the legal consent of the parties. Over time, the number of members of the European Union has expanded, and now it includes 28 allies. And states that want to join these prosperous countries will have to prove their compliance with the European foundations and principles of the EU, such as:
- protection of the rights of citizens;
- democracy;
- freedom of trade in a developed economy.
Members of the EU
The European Union for 2017 includes the following states:
There are now applicant countries to join this foreign community. These include:
- Albania.
- Serbia.
- Macedonia.
- Montenegro.
- Turkey.
On the map of the European Union, you can clearly see its geography, the countries of Europe and their capitals.
Regulations and prerogatives of EU partners
The EU has a customs policy under which its members can trade with each other without duties and without restrictions. And in relation to other powers, the adopted customs tariff applies. Having common laws, the EU countries created a single market and introduced a single monetary currency - the euro. Many EU member states are part of the so-called Schengen zone, which allows their citizens to move freely through the territory of all allies.
The European Union has common governing bodies for member countries, which include:
- European Court.
- European Parliament.
- European Commission.
- The audit community that controls the EU budget.
Despite unity, the European states that have joined the community have full independence and state sovereignty. Each country uses its own national language and has its own governing bodies. But for all participants there are certain criteria, and they must meet them. For example, coordination of all important political decisions with the European Parliament.
It should be noted that since its founding, only one power has left the European community. It was Danish autonomy - Greenland. In 1985, she was outraged by the low quotas introduced by the European Union for fishing. You can also recall the sensational events in 2016 referendum in the UK, when the population voted to leave the country from the European Union. This suggests that even in such an influential and seemingly stable community, serious problems are brewing.
Western Europe is a region of special history, culture, politics and economy. It is the core and foundation of the modern European Union. The destinies of hundreds of millions of people are intertwined here, representatives of several dozen different nationalities, who, however, get along in a single economic and political space.
Territory
Western Europe is a region distinguished by geographical, linguistic, cultural, political and national characteristics. Historically, the Western European region includes 11 countries: Great Britain, Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Monaco. However, there are many disputes about the ownership of countries from this list. So, some scientists single out Great Britain and Ireland as a separate region, while others attribute Germany, Austria and Switzerland to Central Europe. There is also no agreement on the status of their neighbors. There is a theory of "great Western Europe", where Spain, Portugal, Andorra, San Marino, the Vatican, Italy, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are added to the group of countries mentioned above. At the moment, the opinion of the UN dominates, which places 9 states out of 11 in this region, excluding the UK and Ireland.
Western Europe extends over a little over 1,231,000 kilometers, which is approximately 12-13% of the total area of the Old World.
Population
The population of nine countries in the Western European region is approximately 202 million people. It is here that the largest countries in terms of population, located entirely in Europe - Germany and France are located. Together, these two countries are home to 16% of the total population of the Old World.
Western Europe is multilingual, although there are only eight main languages: French, German, Italian, Dutch, Flemish, Luxembourgish and Monegasque. Flemish is the official language of Belgium, spoken by 58% of the country's population. Monegasque and Luxembourgish are the main languages of Monaco and Luxembourg respectively. Almost every country in Western Europe, with the exception of Germany and France, speaks two or more languages. For example, Switzerland uses three official languages - German, French and Italian.
The main religion is Christianity, represented by all major denominations.
An interesting fact is that most of the Western European population lives in cities.
Brief history of the region
Modern Western Europe was formed on the ruins of the Roman Empire: the beginning of the formation of nation-states followed immediately after its collapse. The first such state can be considered the Frankish Kingdom, formed in the 5th century AD and considered the predecessor of modern France. Modern Germany was the last to form, it happened at the end of the 19th century.
Despite the Muslim conquests in Southern Europe, the western part of the continent has always remained Christian. It was the local knights who went on crusades, it was here that Protestantism arose in the 16th century - a new Christian movement. In the 20th century, almost in full force (excluding Switzerland), the countries of Western Europe joined NATO - one of the two world military-political blocs.
Western Europe and Russia
The history of relations between Western Europe and Russia is a history of alternations of friendship and rivalry. It is known for certain that contacts between Western European states and our country existed as early as the 11th century: Anna, the daughter of Yaroslav the Wise, was married to the French king Henry I. However, economic and political ties became widespread after the “great embassy” of Peter I. Since then Since then, the relationship between countries has been a series of wars and participation in allied blocs, economic support and embargoes, cultural exchange and conscious military isolation. Russia fought against the Western European states in both world wars, in the Seven Years' War, in the Patriotic War of 1812, in the Crimean War and many others. Cultural exchange reached its peak in the 19th century, when almost the entire Russian nobility spoke French and German. Unfortunately, this interest waned in the 20th century and has only just begun to revive in the last two decades.
culture
The culture of Western Europe is permeated with Christian influence, the echoes of which are still felt today. One of the main attractions of European cities is the majestic Gothic cathedrals, for example: the cathedral in Cologne and Notre Dame de Paris in the capital of France.
Western Europe has always been the flagship of current trends in culture and art: in the 18th century it was classicism, in the 19th - romanticism, modernism and postmodernism in the 20th. At the moment, Western Europe, like the rest of the world, is dominated by pop culture that has been taking shape since the 1960s.
Even earlier, the great French architect Le Corbusier formulated the “five starting points of architecture”, which, to one degree or another, shaped the appearance of many modern Western European cities. Here are the rules: pillars, flat roofs, terraces, free planning, ribbon windows and a free facade.
Economy
Western Europe is one of the main driving forces of the world economy. Today, the share of Western European countries accounts for 24% of the total GDP of the planet, or a little less than 40 thousand euros per inhabitant. The highest rate is in Luxembourg - 73 thousand per capita. The lowest figure in France - 29.3 thousand.
The development of Western Europe directly depends on the development of its main driving forces - Germany, France and the Netherlands, which are a kind of "donor" of the European Union. Thus, Germany gives 12 million euros more than it receives.
The main trading partners of the Western European countries are China, Japan, the USA and Russia. The main export items are machinery, equipment and computers, which indicates the orientation of the economy towards the development of high technologies. Imports are directly related to the availability of natural resources.
In general, the economy of Western Europe is marked by low unemployment, low inflation and sustainable development.
Germany
United Germany is a young state that was formed in 1990 by combining two parts - the western (Germany) and the eastern (GDR). Germany ranks 62nd in the world in terms of area and 16th in terms of population. More than 82 million people live on its territory. Germany is in 5th place in the world in terms of GDP and 4th in terms of the human development index (very high).
Despite the fact that Germany is a secular country, 65% of Germans profess Christianity. This is a very high figure. The migration balance is skewed towards immigration: in 2013, 1.2 million people arrived in Germany, and 700,000 left.
The capital and largest city is Berlin, with a population of over 3.5 million. The official language of the state is German. Germany is divided into 16 federal states.
France
France is the largest country in Western Europe by area, ranking 48th in the world. The population of the country is just over 66 million, including 2 million living in overseas territories. In terms of GDP and HDI, France is inferior to Germany, however, it occupies a leading position in these indicators - 8th and 21st places in the world, respectively.
18 regions and 101 departments form the administrative-territorial division of France. Most of the population professes Catholicism. The capital and largest city is Paris - its population is about 2.2 million people. French is recognized as the official language. It is spoken by most of the country's population.
In the French economy, a significant role is played by: industry, agriculture, energy, mining, trade and tourism. The latter annually brings to the treasury more than 40 billion dollars.
Europe is named after the heroine of the ancient Greek mythology of Europe, the Phoenician princess, kidnapped by Zeus and taken to the island of Crete. The origin of this name itself, as the French linguist P. Chantren concludes, is unknown. The most popular etymological hypotheses in modern literature were proposed in antiquity (along with many others), but are controversial: One etymology interprets it from the Greek roots Hebrew- and ops- as "wide-eyed." According to the lexicographer Hesychius, the name Europia means "land of sunset, or dark", which was defined by later linguists as "sunset".
The name Europe for part of the world is absent in ancient Greek literature (in the Homeric hymn to the Pythian Apollo, only Northern Greece is called Europe) and was first recorded in the “Description of the Earth” by Hecateus of Miletus (end of the 6th century BC), the first book of which is devoted to Europe.
The ancient Greeks initially considered Europe to be a separate continent, separated from Asia by the Aegean and Black Seas, and from Africa by the Mediterranean Sea. Convinced that Europe is only a small part of the vast continent, which is now called Eurasia, ancient authors began to draw the eastern border of Europe along the Don River (such ideas are already found in Polybius and Strabo). This tradition dominated for almost two millennia. In particular, at Mercator, the border of Europe runs along the Don, and from its source - strictly north to the White Sea.
In the 15th century, when the Muslims were ousted from almost all of Spain and the Byzantines from Asia (by the Turks), Europe briefly became almost synonymous with Christendom, but today most Christians live outside of its territory. In the 19th century, almost all of the world's industry was in Europe; today, most of the production is made outside of it. V. N. Tatishchev in 1720 proposed to draw the eastern border of Europe along the ridge of the Ural Mountains, and further along the Yaik River (modern Ural) up to the mouth that flows into the Caspian Sea. Gradually, the new border became generally accepted, first in Russia, and then beyond its borders. At present, the border of Europe is drawn: in the north - along the Arctic Ocean; in the west - along the Atlantic Ocean; in the south - along the Mediterranean, Aegean, Marmara, Black Seas; in the east - along the eastern foot of the Ural Mountains, the Mugodzhar mountains, along the Yaik River (modern Ural) to the Caspian Sea, from it along the Kum and Manych rivers to the mouth of the Don (or along the Caucasian Range to the Black Sea). Europe also includes nearby islands and archipelagos.
Countries of Europe
Eastern Europe:
Belarus, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Slovakia
Northern Europe:
, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia,